Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-10-28
Concentration


Y the exchange of ideas. but of words
t and the Drawer would not Ike to sa,
, anything To increase the flow Of the lat
| ter. We read OF times and spi0Rs il
which real conversation existed. hclt
+ by men and women. Are they alto
! gether in the past? We believe tina
men do sometimes converse. Do wO
men ever? Perhaps so In those hours
, sacred to the relaxation Of undrcss and
the back hair in the upper penetrala
OF the household, where two or three OF
six are gathered together on and abou,
the cushioned frame intended for re-
pose, do they converse, or indulge in
that sort OF chat from which not one
idea is carr ed away? No one reports.
fortunately, and we do not know. But
do all the women Ike this method of
spend ne hour after hour, day after
indeed, a lifet me? Is it in
vigorating, even restful? Think OF the
talk this past summer. the rivers and
oceans OF 1t. on plazzas and galleries in
'''N "''hh VI tuc
mornings, in private houses. on hotel
verandas. in the shade of thousands of
cottages by the sea and in the hills! As
You recall it. what was it all about?
Was the mind in vapid cond ton af-
ter an evening of il? And there is so
much TO read. and so much to think
about, and the world is so interesting.
il YOU do think about it. and nearly
every person has some popularity of
IN nd that would be worth study # YOU
could only get at it! 1t is really. we
repeat, such an interesting world, and
most people get SO little out of it. Now
there is the conversation OF hens, when
the hens are busy and not self-con-
sc Gus; there is something Ease mating
about IT, because the Imagination NAV
invest 1t with recond to and SD CIV
mean ne; but the common talk of peo-
pie! We infer sonnet mes that the hens
are not SAY ne an, thing, because they
do not read. and consequently their
minds are empty. And perhaps we
are right. a. to conversation. there
is no use in sending the bucket into the
well when the well is dry-;t only
makes rafting Of windlass and chain.
The Drawer does not wish to be I'M
derstood as an enemy of the light
traffic of human speech. Deliver US
from the d daclic and everlastingly inn
proved style of thing! Conversation in
order to be good intellectually inspjr-
ing, and spiritually resiful, need not
always be Serious. 1t must be alert
and intelligent, and mean more by it's
suggestions and illusions than is said.
There is the light touch-and. 90 play
about topics more or less profound
that is rs agreeable rs heat lightning
in sultry evening Why NAV not a
person express the VIII ms and vagaries
of lam bent IN nj Gil he can get lam
bent mind without being hauled up
short for it, and plunged into heated /
Il Spute? In the freedom of real con-
versution the mind throws out haf- |
thoughts. plradoXes. for VIII ch Il man /
i, not to be held strictly responsible 30 /
the very roots Of rs being. and VIII en- /
need to be eau hit up and played with /
in the sam tentative spirit Tho dis /
putc and the hot argument are usually /
the banc Of conycrsat on AMI the death I
Of originality. We like to express
not on. Il fancy. without ba ug called /
upon to defend it. then and there in /
all Is po,s bic consequences. as if it
W r. m article in creed or plank in
II platform. Must we be alway either
vapid or serious?
The Drawer has been Obliged to take
notice OF the cxtraorl nary tendency
Of American women TO cutiya-
{ on, to the Improvement of the
mind. by means of reading, clubs.
and other intellectual exercises.
and to acknowledge that they are leav-
Ing the men behind; that is, the men
not in the so-calicd professions. Is
this INSTRUMENTATION beg ming to
show in the conversation of women
when they are together, sag in the
hours of relaxation in the penetrala
spoken of, or in general Society l.
there less talk about tho fashion OF
dress, and the dearncss or cheapncss of
and about servants. and the
ways of the inchoate cit zen called the
baby, and the intin tely little details Of
the private life of other people? Is it
true that if "A group of men are talking.
say about politics. or robust business,
Or literature, and they are joined bv
woman (whose company IS always well
come). the conversat on is pretty sure
TO take lower mental plane. to be-
come more personal. more frivolous,
accommodating itself to qu tc n Il fer
ent range? Do the well read. thoughtful
however bcaut full and brilliant
aud capable Of the gayest persiilage,
prefer TO talk with men, to ! stem TO The
of men, rather than TO